more effective in dealing with oil in a way that is safe for wildlife. Reports from Florida scientists showed Corexit "may not have done its job properly" and that the dispersant "does not seem to facilitate the degradation of the oil" by oil-eating bacteria. Evidence from researchers at Florida Institute of Oceanography showed Corexit did not degrade as promised. Studies by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute conducted in January 2011 indicated that the 800,000 gallons of Corexit applied at BP's Macondo well-head "did nothing to break up the oil and simply drifted into the ecosystem". In December 2012, a study found that Corexit may have been unnecessary, because the leaking jet of oil at the wellhead had sufficient turbulence to disperse the oil without chemical dispersant. Litigation In April 2012, Center for Biological Diversity, the Surfrider Foundation, and Pacific Environment filed a lawsuit against the EPA and the US Coast Guard, saying the agencies failed to adequately study the chemicals in Corexit and dispersed oil without regard to environmental effects. US District Judge Carl Barbier in December 2012 dismissed all claims against the manufacturer of Corexit, stating that such claims would become an "obstacle to federal law." Barbier held that Nalco did not determine how and in what quantities Corexit was administered during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Criticism EPA whistleblower Hugh Kaufman gave an interview to Democracy Now during the height of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill news coverage and explained his views on the use of Corexit, saying "EPA now is taking the position that they really don’t know how dangerous it is, even though if you read the label, it tells you how dangerous it is. And, for example, in the Exxon Valdez case, people who worked with dispersants, most of them are dead now. The average death age is around fifty. It’s very dangerous. ... It’s an economic protector of BP, not an environmental protector of the public." Marine toxicologist Riki Ott blamed BP for poisoning locals with Corexit, which she alleges they used to hide their responsibility. In August 2010 she wrote an open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency alleging that dispersants were still being used in secret and demanding that the agency take action. The letter was published in the Huffington Post. Ott told Al Jazeera, "The dispersants used in BP's draconian experiment contain solvents, such as petroleum distillates and 2-butoxyethanol. Solvents dissolve oil,